Mary mischief
by Firestarhk
Summary: *AU where Sir Thomas and Lady Elizabeth had a daughter together* Sir Thomas struggles to discipline his youngest child, Mary after she lies to him after breaking his favorite vase and handling his off-limits sword. This story takes a closer look at the relationship between father and daughter, although other characters appear as well.


*CONTENT WARNING/FIC INFO this story contains a scene in which a character is spanked – I guarantee that will not be the case with all my CC fics, but again I found it to be relevant to the plot and time period. In this fic, Armus, Eleanor, Cedric, Richard, and Lady Elizabeth all make appearances, but later in the story it will focus primarily on the relationship between Sir Thomas Grey and his youngest child, Mary (that I made up – same AU as "Mary, Mary, quite contrary" where he and Lady Elizabeth had a child together*

"You're probably wondering why I called you all here," Sir Thomas Grey said to the five of his children who were gathered in his study.

"What's going on, Father?" the eldest, Armus asked.

"Is everything all right?" Asked Eleanor, the eldest daughter.

"No, I'm afraid," Sir Thomas replied.

"What happened?" Cedric the youngest son finally joined in the conversation. He was as baffled as his other siblings.

"I noticed that the vase sitting on my desk was shattered into smithereens this afternoon," Sir Thomas answered solemnly. Armus, Eleanor, Cedric, and Richard, the second oldest son, gasped.

"Not the one from France!" Richard exclaimed.

"Yes, the one from France," Sir Thomas continued. "And what's more – my beloved sword – the one my father gave to me when I was a young boy – was lying next to the shards on the ground. Someone had touched it – and as you all know, I have forbidden _anybody _from touching that sword.

"Yes, Father," the four oldest Grey children replied. The youngest, 12-year-old Mary, Sir Thomas' only child with his love, Lady Elizabeth, only nodded silently.

"Mary, you've been awfully quiet," Sir Thomas observed. "Do you know anything about who touched my sword?"

"No, Father," Mary spoke up quickly. "Perhaps it was one of the servants."

"Well, I've talked with all of the servants – and none of them seem to know anything about it either. And if none of them say they know anything about it – and none of my children say they know anything about it – then that means that someone is lying to me. I aim to find out who – and when I do, that person is going to be very sorry."

The Grey children were silent. Finally, Sir Thomas spoke.

"You are all dismissed," the children filed out of the study.

"I can't believe what happened! That vase and sword are very important to Father – who could've done something so careless?" Eleanor asked her siblings, once they were out of their father's study.

"I don't know," Richard replied. "But I certainly don't want to be in their shoes when Father finds out the truth."

"Mary, are you all right – you look positively ill!" Armus asked his youngest sister with great concern.

"W…what will happen when Father finds out who broke the vase?" Mary sat down on a stone bench out in the hallway to try to stop her shaking body.

"Well, if it was one of the servants – they would surely be fired immediately," Cedric replied. "If it was one of us, it's harder to say. Most of us are all grown up now. When we were children – Father would've given us a thrashing with his leather strap." Mary flinched.

"D…do Father's thrashings hurt very much?" Mary asked nervously. She certainly wouldn't have known from personal experience – as the baby of the family, she was the apple of Sir Thomas' eye, and he had never gotten to see the bratty side that used to come out when she was alone with her siblings. Fortunately, she had gotten a lot better, and she and her brothers and sister had grown much closer than they once were.

"You would always eventually be able to sit down again," Richard replied. "But what do you have to worry about if you didn't do anything wrong?"

Mary gulped.

"You _didn't _do anything with Father's sword, right?" Eleanor asked her sister, sitting down next to her on the bench.

Mary's face turned pale. "I…did," she looked down. "I was pretending I was trying to impress a very handsome prince with my jousting skills. And when I thrust the sword at my opponent, I shattered the vase."

The older Grey children were silent for several moments. Finally, Armus spoke up.

"Well, what's done is done. But you must tell Father the truth. It would be better for him to hear it directly from you."

"Any punishment will just be temporary. Being able to regain Father's trust in the long run is much more important than avoiding consequence," Richard added.

"I…I know," Mary sighed. "None of you will say anything, right?"

"Only if you promise to tell Father first thing in the morning," Eleanor answered.

"I will," Mary nodded. She wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. She would do it now, but Father was probably preparing for bed. This would give her time to decide what exactly to say.

Mary got up and rounded the corner, nearly running into Lady Elizabeth.

"Oh! Mother! I'm sorry," Mary said quickly.

"That's quite all right, darling. I was just on my way to find you – it's time for your bath. Mary Ann has already drawn it for us," Lady Elizabeth put her arm around her daughter.

"Yes, Mother," Mary said walking with her mother to the bedroom she slept in when she stayed at Father's castle.

After Mary's bath, she was sitting on the edge of her bed, and Lady Elizabeth had just finished combing out her hair.

"All right – into bed with you," Lady Elizabeth stood up and pulled the covers down so Mary could get into bed. "Is something wrong, dear? You've seemed preoccupied all night."

"Mother," Mary said, once Lady Elizabeth had pulled the covers up to her chin. "Will you and Father always love me?"

"Why, of course we will!" Lady Elizabeth exclaimed, taken aback at her youngest's question. She sat on the edge of Mary's bed.

"No matter what I do?" Mary continued.

"Where is this coming from?" Lady Elizabeth asked, stroking her daughter's temple tenderly.

"I'm just asking," Mary replied.

"There is nothing on God's Earth you could do that would make your father and I stop loving you," Lady Elizabeth kissed Mary's forehead. "Good night, Mary Grey."

"Good night, Mother," Mary said.

"Now get some sleep," Lady Elizabeth instructed, before closing the door.

"Yes, Mother," Mary answered. But Mary got very little sleep that night.

It seemed the sun was peeking through the window just as she had finally fallen asleep. Mary stretched and slowly rose out of bed, dreading the conversation she was about to have with her father. She pulled on her dress and brushed her hair, then slowly trudged down the steps to breakfast – as if she was headed for the gallows.

Mary entered the dining room to find the rest of the family already eating.

"There you are, Princess!" Sir Thomas stood up and wrapped his daughter in a warm hug. "You certainly slept in late today!"

"You got here just in time," Richard said. "Armus has nearly inhaled all the rolls," Eleanor and Cedric chuckled while Armus elbowed Richard in the ribs. Mary turned to her father.

"F…Father? May I see you in private?" Mary stuttered.

"Aren't you hungry, Angel?" Sir Thomas and Lady Elizabeth looked at each other quizzically.

"N…no sir," Mary replied. This was true – the last thing on her mind right now was food.

"Very well. Let's go to my study," Sir Thomas walked with Mary down the hall to his study.

After closing the door, he turned to his daughter. "Now, what is it I –" he started to say.

Before he could finish, Mary interrupted, "Father, I was the one who touched your sword and knocked over the vase. I didn't mean to break the vase, I just let my imagination get the better of me. I'm so sorry – it will never happen again!"

Sir Thomas stood there, stunned for a few moments. Finally, he looked at his daughter severely.

"I see. So not only did you disobey me, but you lied to me when I asked you if you knew what had happened," Sir Thomas said sternly.

"Y…yes, Father," Mary gulped down a sob.

"Well, I should have to punish you for this, you know," Sir Thomas walked over to his desk and opened one of the drawers, removing the infamous leather strap. "Mary Elizabeth Grey go wait for me in your bedroom," Mary hurried out of the study, looking down at the floor the whole time.

Sir Thomas waited a few minutes before leaving the study himself. He approached Lady Elizabeth at the table. "May I see you for a moment, Elizabeth?" he asked.

"Yes, of course, Thomas," Lady Elizabeth set down the roll she was eating and followed Sir Thomas into the hallway. Suddenly, she noticed the strap in his hand.

"What's that for?" she asked, alarmed.

"It seems that Mary was the one who touched my sword and broke my vase," Sir Thomas said, still not really believing what he was saying. "Not only did she disobey me, but she lied to me about her involvement. Now if this had been any of my other children at her age, I certainly would've punished them severely.

Lady Elizabeth nodded slowly. "As I would have, had it been Adam or Lenore."

Sir Thomas sighed. "But this was not Armus or Richard or William or Eleanor or Cedric or Adam or Lenore. This was Mary. And we must be consistent in the way we raise our children," Thomas' eyes brimmed with tears.

"You're right," Lady Elizabeth swallowed slowly.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," Sir Thomas trudged up the stairs as if he were the one on his way to the gallows.

Sir Thomas opened Mary's door to find his daughter sitting on her bed. He closed the door behind him.

"Stand up, Mary," Sir Thomas instructed his daughter. "And put your hands on your bed."

Mary quietly obeyed her father.

"I'm giving you ten lashes – five for disobedience, and five for dishonesty," he gulped, slowly raising the strap. He quietly administered the punishment, while both he and Mary fought back tears. By the end of it, Mary was quietly sobbing. Sir Thomas left the room without a word, closing the door behind him. When he reached the hallway, he sat down against the wall and quietly sobbed into his hands.

Mary did not come down the rest of the day. She had asked the servants to bring her lunch and supper up to her. She was not ready to face either of her parents, nor her siblings, as she knew they knew what happened and she was much too embarrassed. When Lady Elizabeth went up to say good night, she had found that Mary had already blown out the candle and seemed to be asleep. Elizabeth quietly tiptoed down the corridor to her and Thomas' bedroom.

Sir Thomas did not go to bed as early as he normally did that night. He knew he would just be spending hours tossing and turning. He sat in his chair in the Great Hall long after the rest of the family had retired for the evening. He just sat, staring at the wall, for what seemed like an eternity. Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. It was Mary.

Thomas stood up, and asked her, "what are you still doing awake at this hour?" before realizing she could ask him the very same question – not to mention they both had the same answer.

Instead of replying, Mary ran to her father and leapt into his arms. Sir Thomas sat back down in his chair, holding his youngest tighter than he ever had before.

"I'm…I'm sorry," Mary said suddenly, crying into her father's nightshirt.

"Shh…shh…" Sir Thomas stroked her hair tenderly. "I am, too," he kissed her forehead softly. "I love you, Mary Grey,"

"I love you, too," Mary seemed to calm down a bit. Suddenly, she sat up. "I was so mad at myself – I was mad that I disobeyed you, but I was even more mad that I had disappointed you so," she said. "I was afraid…afraid that you didn't love me anymore."

"I will always love you no matter what – and don't you forget that," Sir Thomas said matter-of-factly. "It's something you won't truly be able to understand until you have children yourself." He sighed happily. "I never thought I would be a father again after your brother Cedric was born," Sir Thomas said. "You were such a joyous surprise for Mother and me," he smiled down at his daughter who laid her head on his chest. "But when God gives us children – He intends for us to teach them right from wrong," he said more seriously.

Mary nodded. "Yes, Father."

"Now promise me, for both of our sakes, that you will never do something like that again," Sir Thomas continued.

"I promise, Father," Mary said sincerely.

"Good. Now, I –" he began.

"Father," Mary interrupted.

"Yes, child?"

"Tell me about the day I was born."

"All right, then it's off to bed, young lady!" Sir Thomas stroked Mary's hair again. "Now, it was a cold November evening, when I heard Mother yelling from her chambers. 'Thomas! Thomas! The baby is coming!' she called frantically. Now, I rushed up the stairs and –" Sir Thomas suddenly stopped, noticing that Mary had fallen asleep. He smiled. Carefully standing up, he brought Mary up to her bedroom and tucked her into bed, kissing her forehead one final time before closing the door and tiptoeing off to his own chamber.


End file.
